It’s been nights of predictable political speeches,
a few D-list celebrities and many children named Trump,
far from the promise of a reality show spectacle
unlike any convention we’d seen before.

When caught in a plagiarism mini-scandal,
the Trump team pointed fingers, denied, lied.
When faced with a Cruz non-endorsement,
the Trump team huffed, puffed and called names.
All pretty standard fare for the Trump campaign.

And we’re told that immigrants are criminals,
political correctness is the cause of our problems
and Hillary Clinton should be locked up —
also that she’s connected to Lucifer.

Despite the unconventional candidate,
this has been a pretty conventional convention.

And the saddest part is Trump’s politics
of divisive, inflammatory, violent bigotry
has echoed across the stage —
meaning his dangerous, extreme rhetoric
is becoming the norm for the GOP
and a predictable part of political discourse.

That’s one new convention we could do without.

If you want to watch, don’t do it alone!
And definitely no need to do it sober.

Join like-minded libation-lifting lefties
so that you don’t have to suffer Trump solo
at your local progressive social club.

The largest mass shooting in modern history
murders 50 and injures many more,
and while we do send thoughts and prayers to Orlando
it’s also clear thoughts and prayers just aren’t enough.

We could end vitriol against the LGBTQ community
which was the target of the attack.
We could tackle the fast-killing assault weapons
which have no place in our homes, towns and cities.

We can tighten background checks,
invest more in mental health screening and support,
— or we could do all of the above and more.

Yet, the NRA calls for more guns,
the GOP nominee calls to ban Muslims,
and even the Dems who mount a vigorous filibuster
focus a poor strategy on the flawed “watch list”
—not believing they can take on assault weapons.

People in Orlando and around the country grieve
donate, volunteer, demand & stand in solidarity.
We are overwhelmed and we are outraged.

But Politicians on the right give outrageous responses
and on the left are outrageously unable to find
an opportunity for progress in this overwhelming moment.

We’re all overwhelmed. We’re all outraged.
We all stand with Orlando.
But solidarity, like thoughts and prayers, still isn’t enough.

Share your reflections, reactions, ideas for actions,
as you share liberal drinks and share liberal values
at your local progressive social club.

It's reported that Donald Trump's greatest grief
is that the greedy grubber's not as rich as he wishes
and he's hiding his tax returns to hide the fact
that he's not broke, but he's no billionaire either.

Trump University was a broken promise,
leaving students broke and broken
as more revelations of the fraud break each day.

Trump pitches bankrupt values
and a broken mess of bankrupting policies
as he breaks every rule of democratic discourse
with a campaign that's reportedly close to broke.

Yes, his broke campaign isn't broken,
as he surges in polls, dominates the news
and this broken broke bloke breaks out
threatening to break our democracy.

He's so broke, he might break us all.

Break out of political despair
as you break into lively political conversation
at your local progressive social club.